Boxing Day Tube Strike Ballot Over Quadruple Pay Demand

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 148 months ago
Boxing Day Tube Strike Ballot Over Quadruple Pay Demand

Oh, for the love of... not again? Tube drivers' union Aslef are balloting members over strike action on Boxing Day if they don't get quadruple pay for the bank holiday.

In what's threatening to turn into an annual event, the union says it is seeking "‘adequate compensation’ for members working on such an unsociable day". Well, yes; but quadruple pay (triple pay plus a day in lieu)? Has Aslef forgotten that TfL is not exactly swimming in cash at the moment? A Boxing Day strike, days before fares take a roughly 8% hike, on the first day of the sales when retailers are already struggling, might be termed "taking the piss".

London Underground say they've reduced staffing requirements so fewer union members will need to spend time away from their families, while reminding Aslef of the "long-standing agreement with all of its trade unions which cover staff working arrangements on bank holidays, and Boxing Day is included in that agreement". Ironically, from TfL's engineering plan it looks like they're trying to keep as much of zone 1 open as they can (the Circle line is running for a start). So much for that idea.

Talks are ongoing and Aslef will have the results of the ballot on 14th December. They have to give 7 days' notice of any strike. In the meantime, we'd love to hear if anyone else is working Boxing Day, and what pay they're getting...

Photo by avail from the Londonist Flickr pool

Last Updated 14 November 2011